The Publicity Hound’s
\nTips of the Week
\nIssue #459 July 14, 2009<\/p>\n
Publisher: Joan Stewart<\/p>\n
===============================<\/p>\n
“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”<\/p>\n
===============================
\nIn This Issue
\n===============================<\/p>\n
1. When in Doubt, Tweet It<\/p>\n
2. Use Value in Your Pitches<\/p>\n
3. Who’s Using Your YouTube Videos?<\/p>\n
4. How to Look Like a Weasel<\/p>\n
5. The Benefits of Petting Animals<\/p>\n
6. Help This Hound<\/p>\n
7. Hound Video of the Week<\/p>\n
8. And at My Blog…<\/p>\n
=====================================
\n1. When in Doubt, Tweet It
\n=====================================<\/p>\n
Do you ever send helpful tips on the social media sites and
\nwonder if anybody’s reading them?<\/p>\n
I’m trying to make sure that about half my tweets include advice
\nthat people would find useful.<\/p>\n
Last week, for example, I tweeted about Oprah’s top 25 money-
\nsaving tips and also included the link on my Facebook page.<\/p>\n
One of my Facebook friends, Jennifer Melnick Carota, of
\nPittsburgh, Pa., replied:<\/p>\n
“Joan…you are a lifesaver! Just got a call from our local news
\nnetwork requesting a last-minute money-saving segment with me
\ntomorrow…so many fresh ideas that I look forward to sharing,
\nthanks to you.”<\/p>\n
Jennifer calls herself The Gift Therapist. At her website, she passes
\nalong helpful tips to her audience on how to buy inexpensive gifts for
\nalmost any occasion.<\/p>\n
When she taped the segment for the “Project Economy” feature in
\nthe studios at WTAE-TV, the ABC station in Pittsburgh, on Friday,
\nshe took the list of tips with her.<\/p>\n
“What we didn’t use, I turned over to the reporter in case he
\nwanted me to do a follow-up segment,” she said. “I told him,
\n‘Here’s my gift to you. If you need anything else, please call
\nme.'”<\/p>\n
Not only did I earn Jennifer’s loyalty with that one little tweet
\nthat took less than 60 seconds to post, but I helped her help the
\nreporter, who will be more inclined to call her again. She said
\nhe’s already considering a “Christmas in July” segment with her
\nthat explains how shoppers can get good deals by buying now.<\/p>\n
I called Jennifer after I saw her reply and invited her to test-
\ndrive a new learning tool I’m creating. If she likes it, she’ll
\ngive me a testimonial. So that little tweet turned into a win-
\nwin.<\/p>\n
Lesson: In social media, give before you receive. If you’re ever
\non the fence about sharing helpful information, when in doubt,
\ntweet it.<\/p>\n
That’s the Number One message from Warren Whitlock who was my
\nguest last summer during a teleseminar on “How to Use Twitter to
\nAmass an Army of Followers, Customers & Valuable Contacts–and
\nPromote.”<\/p>\n
=====================================
\n2. Use Value in Your Pitches
\n=====================================<\/p>\n
When you pitch yourself to journalists and clients, how do you
\ndescribe yourself?<\/p>\n
Do you tell them about the tasks you perform? Or do you explain
\nhow you add value?<\/p>\n
Publicity Hound Cheryl Antier, a freelance writer who lives on
\nthe French Riviera, says there’s a huge difference. Before she
\nknew any better, she would tell potential clients about all the
\nthings she could do for them, from writing copy for their
\nwebsites to creating their marketing brochures.<\/p>\n
Business was good, not great, and she closed about 40 percent of
\nthe projects she pursued. Last year, she immersed herself in
\nFormula Five, the course that teaches a five-pronged formula to
\ngrowing a business. She immediately started applying what she
\nlearned when trying to attract clients.<\/p>\n
As a result, she landed a freelance job writing for What Boat, an
\ninternational yachting magazine published in the UK.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, while on assignment in Greece, she ran into
\nthe editor of the magazine and knew immediately she wanted to
\nwrite for him. Formula Five had taught her how to discuss value,
\nso she pitched him right on the spot, without preparing or
\nrehearsing the pitch.<\/p>\n
“They write about a lot of technical topics, like sophisticated
\nradar devices you can use on your boat,” she said. “I told the
\neditor I thought readers might appreciate a story that explained
\nwhat they could do for fun in the Greek Islands, from chartering
\na yacht to visiting shipwrecks from the 5th Century B.C.<\/p>\n
“I told him I would immerse readers in the story, make them feel
\nlike they were actually there, and open their eyes to all the
\npossible ways they could have fun while on their boats.”<\/p>\n
Value. Value. Value.<\/p>\n
Cheryl not only sold the story, but the editor invited her to
\nwrite a monthly article for his magazine.<\/p>\n
Communicating value also works with her consulting clients, and
\nit can work with yours, too, whether you’re a nonprofit, sell PR
\nservices, own a bricks-and-mortar store or work for somebody
\nelse. A few weeks after she returned to France from Greece, she
\nmet with a potential client in the insurance industry who needed
\nhelp with his website and other marketing materials.<\/p>\n
Instead of going through the typical client interview and then
\nsubmitting a proposal, she instead communicated value by
\ndiscussing how she would work with his graphic designer, results
\nhe would see from her work, and ways he could work with her on a
\nlong-term basis.<\/p>\n
“I told him that I’d like the opportunity to look at how he was
\ncurrently doing his marketing, as well as keeping in touch with
\npast clients. I told him that from looking at his website, I
\ncould see five ways he could start getting his current customers
\nto buy new or more comprehensive policies–within the first 30
\ndays.<\/p>\n
He immediately asked her, “Where should I send the check?”<\/p>\n
She’s booked solid with writing assignments until October, and
\nshe’s on track to almost double her goal of $150,000 in revenues
\nthis year. Today, 85 percent of new business comes from
\nreferrals. Here’s the kicker.<\/p>\n
Cheryl uses much of the information she learned in Formula Five In other words, she teaches her clients the five-pronged ===================================== When you post a video to YouTube, you’re giving anyone permission Knowing who’s using your videos can help you in several ways.<\/p>\n It can lead you to possible joint venture partners. You can share YouTube is now making it easy for you to learn who’s using your<\/a> That’s just one of dozens of benefits of using online video to ======================================== If you’re appearing at a press conference or media event you’re Bad news, controversy and other nasty topics you don’t want to That’s what happened to Wisconsin State Rep. Tom Nelson last Problem was, he and another Democratic legislator had been After the autism event, a reporter approached Nelson on camera That’s one of the disadvantages of press conferences. If you put The CD “Creative Alternatives to Boring News Conferences” ===================================== This week, six Publicity Hounds have advice on how Cathy Watson, From Patti Pokorchak:<\/p>\n “Have a party! Make it a charity fund-raiser for your favorite From Joni at Tangi Adopt A Rescue:<\/p>\n “Invite local artists and art teachers to a special ‘Draw the From Lori Green LeRoy:<\/p>\n “Write a news release with tips about why petting animals is Read all the responses to this week’s Help This Hound question.<\/a><\/p>\n =============================== Cynthia Flash, of Bellevue, Wash. writes:<\/p>\n “I’m looking for a way to put a dollar value on web hits I get “For example, if a client is mentioned in a blog, is that worth “Are PR people putting dollar values on web placements or is that<\/a> The Publicity Hound says:<\/p>\n Many other PR people are curious about this, too, so the answers ================================ Thanks to Elaine Grassbaugh of Columbus, Ohio, for this video of ================================= Artists, new book shows how to meet your PR goals<\/a><\/p>\n Media interview? How to deal with a confused journalist<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week Issue #459 July 14, 2009 Publisher: Joan Stewart =============================== “Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity” =============================== In This Issue =============================== 1. When in Doubt, Tweet It 2. Use Value in Your Pitches 3. Who’s Using Your YouTube Videos? 4. How to Look Like a Weasel 5. The\u2026 Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","iawp_total_views":3,"wds_primary_category":6,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[25,16,19,10],"class_list":{"0":"post-137","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-tips-of-the-week","7":"tag-business-promotion","8":"tag-facebook","9":"tag-pitching-to-reporters","10":"tag-twitter","11":"entry"},"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Joan Stewart","author_link":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/author\/jstewart\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/purelysupp.com\/publicity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nwhen working with her own consulting clients and with members of
\nthe Writer’s Business Academy<\/a> at where she teaches authors
\nand writers how to market themselves.<\/p>\n
\ntechnique of growing their businesses, just like she has. You can
\ndo the same with your clients, too, and add value to what you
\nalready do.<\/p>\n
\n3. Who’s Using Your YouTube Videos?
\n=====================================<\/p>\n
\nto cut and paste the coding and embed it on their own website or
\nblog.<\/p>\n
\nother information you have, like articles you’ve written. You
\nmight offer to be a guest on their podcast, or write a guest post
\nat their blog, or ask them to write a guest post at your blog.<\/p>\n
\n videos with a new tool called Insights.<\/a> You’ll find step-by-step
\ndirections.<\/p>\n
\npromote yourself. Learn more at a free webinar on Thursday, July
\n16. Register for “How To Quickly Drive More Traffic and Sales to
\nYour Website Through Social Media Using Easy-To-Create Videos
\nThat Cost Almost Nothing to Produce”<\/p>\n
\n4. How to Look Like a Weasel
\n========================================<\/p>\n
\nhosting, or one you’ve been invited to by somebody else, don’t
\nexpect the media to play nice and ask you questions only about
\nthe topic at hand.<\/p>\n
\ndiscuss are fair game. Refuse to answer a reporter’s questions
\nand you’ll look like a weasel.<\/p>\n
\nweek when he appeared at a press conference to discuss autism, an
\ninnocent topic that couldn’t possibly get him into trouble.<\/p>\n
\ndodging reporters from the local TV station all week. The
\nreporters wanted them to comment about an investigation they did
\ninto an unknown provision that was slipped into the state budget.
\nIt gives special treatment to a local Indian tribe and the way it
\ngets its liquor license. The tribe is a huge campaign contributor
\nto the Democratic governor.<\/p>\n
\nand asked him to explain his vote approving the budget. Watch the
\nshort video (after a short ad) and judge for yourself if you
\nthink Nelson looks like a weasel when he refused to answer
\nquestions about anything other than autism.<\/p>\n
\nyourself out there for the media, you’d better be ready to answer
\nany and all questions, particularly if you’re a public official.
\nThe media hate these staged events, by the way, but people
\ncontinue to have them.<\/p>\n
\nfeatures PR pro Sandra Eggers who gives you dozens of ideas for
\nfun, interesting events that sidestep those horrid news
\nconferences.<\/p>\n
\n5. The Benefits of Petting Animals
\n=====================================<\/p>\n
\nof Bostic, N.C., can promote the therapeutic benefits of petting
\nanimals so she can bring traffic to her website and sell tickets
\nto her farm where people can pet animals.<\/p>\n
\nanimal shelter or other animal-related charity. Invite other
\nanimal-related businesses to be part of this day–dog trainers,
\ngroomers, pet food retailers, gourmet pet biscuit companies,
\ndoggie shrinks, etc. Put on a fashion show. Go wild with
\nstretching the animal theme (paintings, sculptures, cakes).”<\/p>\n
\nAnimals’ Day at your farm…Contact dog trainers and see if they
\nneed a place to hold dog training classes or special events.
\nConsider learning, then starting, your own Clicker training
\nclasses.”<\/p>\n
\ntherapeutic and invite unemployed people, people who have lost
\ntheir houses or cars, etc. (and the media) for a free pet therapy
\nsession event to combat the recession blues.”<\/p>\n
\n6. Help This Hound
\n===============================<\/p>\n
\nfor my PR clients.<\/p>\n
\nanything in terms of dollar equivalents (like having an article
\nappear in a newspaper)? If an online-only newspaper does a story
\nabout the client, how much is that worth? Certainly, increased
\nsales to the client is a great way to tell, but it’s difficult to
\nknow if that’s directly a result of the web publicity.<\/p>\n
\n only something reserved for traditional media?”<\/a><\/p>\n
\nwill be interesting. If you do PR and can help Cynthia, post your
\ncomments to my blog.<\/p>\n
\n7. Hound Video of the Week
\n================================<\/p>\n
\nBizkit, the Sleep-walking Dog.<\/a><\/p>\n
\n8. And at My Blog…
\n=================================<\/p>\n